Artemis II crew undergoes intense training for rare moon mission
Final preparations are underway for NASA’s first crewed mission around the Moon in more than 50 years, with an early February launch in sight.
The Artemis II spaceflight will send four astronauts – three Americans and a Canadian – on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth. The mission will be led by Commander Reid Wiseman, with Victor Glover as pilot and Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen as mission specialists.
How is NASA preparing to take astronauts further from Earth than most humans have ever gone? Trainers from Houston’s Johnson Space Center offered a glimpse inside.
Training for humanity’s return to the Moon
It’s no small task to prepare astronauts for a journey that few have accomplished. At the Johnson Space Center training facility, most trainers take a trial-by-fire approach.
A team of trainers uses a flight simulator to test how the Artemis II crew reacts under pressure. Training Manager Lisa Voiles and her team brainstorm countless ways something could go wrong in any phase of the mission.
Scenarios vary, but Voiles told “CBS Mornings” it could be anything from the smallest sensor failure to a fire or other emergency. “She observes how the crew reacts to each problem inside the capsule.
The Artemis II crew and mission control team underwent rigorous training for months, working out problems during dozens of simulations.
Judd Frieling, one of NASA’s flight directors who supported more than 20 shuttle missions, will sit in the hot seat to oversee the Artemis II crew’s ascent to space.
Frieling said some of the scenarios given to astronauts and flight controllers during training were “very creative” – and absolutely necessary. Although you can’t prepare for everything, Frieling said the simulations teach crew members and the mission control team how to adapt to any surprises.
“If you don’t have a completely defined plan, you at least have an idea of what the plan might be,” he explained in an interview on “CBS Mornings.”
Hansen, a specialist on the Artemis II mission, jokes that the tests are “kind of evil.” Voiles admits that sometimes coaches have to be “a little bit mean,” but they have good intentions.
“We’ll be sitting in the simulation, all of our mission controllers will be in mission control, and then things will start breaking. You’re like, ‘Oh, come on. Really, that?’ Hansen said.
Sometimes the crew has to juggle multiple flasher crises at once.
“We can’t predict everything that’s going to happen. I think any scenario you envision – even if it’s not exactly what you see in space, all of this experience and all of this development together will benefit everyone,” she said.
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